Blowing device for a converter assembly



K. STEINMAIR BLOWING DEVICE FOR A CONVERTER ASSEMBLY July 29, 1969 Filed Sept. 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR KARL STEIN MAIR BY Mad/2M,

' HIS ATTORNEYS July 29, 1969 K. STEINMAIR BLOWING DEVICE FOR A CONVERTER ASSEMBLY i Filed Sept. 13, 1966 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR KARL STEIN MAIR HIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,458,180 BLOWING DEVICE FOR A CONVERTE ASSEMBLY Karl Steinmair, Schiedlberg, Austria, assignor to Vereinigte Osterreichische Eisenund Stahlwerke Aktiengesellscliaft, Linz, Austria, a company of Austria Filed Sept. 13, 1966, Ser. No. 579,028 Claims priority, application Austria, June 22, 1966, A 5,928/66 Int. Cl. C21c 5/42 US. Cl. 266-34 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lance changing arrangement for a top-blowing steel converter is described. The vertical lance is supported from a carriage which is vertically movable along a stationary guide rail adjacent the converter. The lance holding structure of the carriage is horizontally movable, either along an arc of a circle or a straight line, so that the lance may be moved from a stand-by position next to the converter, to the blowing position from which the lance is lowered into the converter mouth. Two such lance arrangements may be provided for a single converter, so that the lances can be alternately moved into the blowing position.

The invention relates to a blowing device for a converter assembly having a lance guided along vertical guide means and adapted to be lifted and lowered. In particular, the invention relates to a converter assembly having two such blowing devices, thus permitting an easy exchange of lances, e.g. for substituting a burner lance for an oxygen lance.

The object of expediting the operation of a converter assembly, while at the same time guaranteeing a high degree of safety, requires the provision of automatic devices for the handling and exchange of lances. Known constructions, which have been developed for said purpose, comprise e.g. a horizontally movable winch platform having two vertical lance guiding means, each of the two lances being rigidly mounted with its upper end on a carriage. The two vertical guide means form part of the winch platform which comprises the necessary auxiliary installations for lifting and lowering the lances, means for safeguarding against cable-breaks, and the like. The winch platform with the vertical guide means is usually guided along horizontal rails. Thus the lances can alternately be moved into blowing position.

Another known proposal consists in a winch platform with two vertical guide means being horizontally slewable, the blowing position being located on the slewing path, so that the two lances can alternately be brought into operating position.

Further, an installation having a horizontally movable winch platform comprising two short vertical guide means, and independent thereof a long vertical guide means, stationarily mounted above the converter mouth, has been proposed. The advantage of this construction, as compared to the two aforementioned ones, resides in that the horizontally movable parts are lighter and require less space, however, there is a disadvantage due to the fact that during an exchange of lances one of the short guide means has to be brought in alignment with the stationary long guide means, which may result in difiiculties.

The invention has as its object to avoid the mentioned disadvantages and difficulties by providing a blowing device for a converter assembly, which blowing device is robust and easy to handle and which permits an auto- "Ice matic lifting and lowering and an automatic exchange of the lances, while there are no horizontal rails limiting or blocking the space above the converter, which is required for the exhausting and waste heat boiler installations.

The blowing device according to the invention is characterised in that the lance is mounted on a carriage by means of a lance holder adapted to be horizontally slidable or slewable, said carriage being guided along a stationary vertical guide rail, the horizontal sliding or slewing path extending from the stand-by position to the blowing position centrally above the converter month. For blowing, the lance is lowered into the converter along the vertical guide rail by means of the carriage.

The lance may be fixed to a swivel arm which is supported on the carriage, or to a slide which is horizontally movable along said carriage. Suitably, a remote control shifting device is provided for effecting the horizontal movement of the lance holder.

In order to permit an easy exchange of lances, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention two such blowing devices in symmetrical arrangement are provided.

In the drawing, the invention is illustrated by way of two embodiments. FIG. 1 shows a plan view of two symmetrical blowing devices with slewable lances, FIGS. 2 and 3 show the corresponding front view and side view. In FIG. 4 the plan view of a modified embodiment with horizontally slidable lances is illustrated.

In the drawing, numeral 1 denotes the vertical guide rail rigidly fixed to the shop building, i.e. stationary. Along this guide rail, the carriage 2 is movable by means of rollers or the like. The lance 5 is mounted on the carriage 2 by means of a swivel arm 3 supported on a shaft at 4, and is slewable along the dotted are between the end positions R and B, R denoting the stand-by position and B the blowing position. 1, 2', 3', etc., denote the corresponding parts of the symmetrically arranged second blowing device, where the lance 5 is movable from the stand-by position R into the blowing position B. 6 and 6 stand for the remote control shifting devices mounted on the carriage.

In the front view according to FIG. 2 the lance 5 is shown in blowing position and the lance 5' in stand-by position.

In the modified embodiment according to FIG. 4 the lance 5 is fixed to a slide 7 instead of a swivel arm, said slide 7 being horizontally slidable within the carriage 2 by suitable means, such as rollers or the like. The operation method is similar to the one'according to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, as will be obvious to an expert.

The blowing device according to the invention is characterised by an easy and safe operation. When used in symmetrical arrangement as a device for the exchange of lances, it shows considerable advantages in comparison with the aforementioned lance exchange devices. In particular, the handicap of having to operate above the blowing position in order to establish alignment between upper and lower guide means, is eliminated. The device according to the invention permits a favorable adaptability to the space available in the steel works by leaving greater freedom in the choice of a place for the stationary lifting and lowering means. The employment of one stationary vertical guide means instead of the previously used two vertical guide means mounted on the lance carriage permits a considerable reduction in weight.

What I claim is:

1. A blowing device for use with a steel-making converter having a mouth substantially at its top comprising, a vertical lance, a stationary guide rail adjacent the converter, a carriage mounted for vertical movement along said guide rail, and means on said carriage for holding said lance, said lance holding means being horizontally displaceable between a stand-by position in which said lance is disposed alongside of said converter and a blowing position in which said lance is disposed centrally of said converter mouth.

2. A blowing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said lance holding means comprises a swivel arm pivotally mounted on said carriage.

3. A blowing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said lance holding means comprises a slide which is horizontally movable along said carriage.

4. A blowing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein a remote control shifting device is provided for actuating said lance holding means to effect said horizontal movement.

5. Steel making apparatus comprising a converter having a top mouth and blowing equipment, said blowing equipment comprising, stationary vertical guide means adjacent said converter, carriage means mounted on said vertical guide means for vertical movement therealong, a pair of lance holders mounted on said carriage for simultaneous movement along a horizontal path, and a vertical lance carried by each of said lance holders, said lances being spaced apart relative to the length of said horizontal path such that when one lance is in an operating position centrally of said converter mouth, the other lance is in a stand-by position alongside of said converter mouth, and vice versa.

6. A steel-making apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said carriage means comprise two separate carriages arranged symmetrically with respect to a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of said converter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,007,691 11/1961 Rinesch et a1 26634.2

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,301,539 7/1962 France.

1,365,950 5/1964 France.

1,014,709 12/1965 Great Britain.

CHARLES J. MYHRE, Primary Examiner 

